So, we have:
- Brushing off criticism by changing the subject,
- Ignorantly equating privileged Ukrainian neofascists with their less privileged Russian equivalents and
- Creating another ‘big tent’ or class collaborationist movement. (Because that worked out so well for the Makhnovshchina, am I right?)
There’s also a strong implication that they’re fighting for one bourgeois state over another, but you can be generous and assume that they’re merely interested in protecting ordinary Ukrainians, if you want.
You know, I never thought that I’d be clamouring for all those dull and cowardly ‘both sides are bad’ comments and sentiments, but Judas Priest, at least those would be a little more circumspect. I’m almost surprised that, so far, nobody has said ‘red fash’ or rereminded us about the Molotov Cocktease Pact again.
(On the plus side, at least some other anarchists know better.)
The “yeah well Russia has nazis too, they’re not anti-fascist” crowd piss me right tf off.
Ukraine’s Nazis hold positions of power, they’re open about their Nazism and know nothing untoward will happen to them for it. Fascism is fully legal in Ukraine (Communism is banned) and anyone can glorify Nazis as much as they want. Meanwhile, in Russia it’s illegal to glorify Nazism (which is effectively a ban on being a Nazi). Fascist groups are often raided by the FSB, as most of the Fascist groups are against the legitimate Russian government. If there are actual Fascists (not just people with authoritarian politics that liberals don’t like, actual bonified Fascists) in Russia’s government, I don’t know about them.
The whataboutism on this only serves NATO’s aims for the region, and only makes fascism more normal for today’s political landscape. It’s a damn shame, genuinely makes me ashamed of being a westerner who’s active in the broader leftist movement, that so-called “leftists” are spouting this shit. No one’s immune to propaganda, but it seems western leftists are blind to the truth.
Also, I have seen a decent amount of flinging of the “red fash” bullshit, especially on Facebook. I’m sure it’s happening on Twitter too, but I don’t scroll that hellsite. Every principled ML I know has taken a stance against NATO and Ukraine, and the anarcho-liberals are melting down about it. Our refusal to back NATO’s war is just giving them a confirmation bias that we’ve always been the cartoon villains they think the USSR and following Russian state are. We’re “red fash” because we refuse to defend actual, in broad daylight fascists.
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I’ve seen Dugin referred to as a fascist in some places, but I know literally nothing about him.
That of course doesn’t negate the Nazi apologism that plagues Reddit at the minute. I literally presented a list of sources (both Donbass war and the Russian invasion) concerning Ukrainian Nazism and they just handwave it. They don’t care at all.
